Customer Reviews

HP PSC 950 Multifunction

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Though I purchased this elsewhere, I wanted to give a big "thumbs up" to Amazon customers considering getting a multifunction printer/copier/scannner/fax machine such as this. The speed and high quality printing, copies and scans have been a real plus. Set-up was a breeze--as a scanner, it is almost effortless with abundant options for modifying scans, etc. What sold me on this was being able to load my SONY handicam's media stick, print out a sheet of thumbnail images, pick which ones I wanted to print, etc. Many photo printing options--for example, one can print out single or multiple images on the same sheet, fitting a variety of combinations (e.g., 2 4x6 plus several wallet, 8x10, 9 wallet, plus custom sizing). If you love to scan photos or take digital ones for custom printing, you will enjoy this. Color and black-and-white copying is photo-quality and best of all, the machine is quiet--great for doing work late at night! Plus, you can use the copy or fax functions without bothering starting up your PC (unlike some scanners with a "copy" function). The only negatives have been 1.) the lack of an included USB cable ( ~ $5-$35, depending on size, where you shop, etc.) and 2.) I'm spending too much time playing with it!

This excellent product provides a great deal of functionality in a considerably small package. HP might not have the cheapest price in this category, but believe me... I am really impress with the quality, speed, and the overall experience with this product. I am very picky, and wanted the best, dollar for dollar... After comparing the output from other similar products/brands in a local store, there was no doubt for me that this was the one. Forget about dpi, and other technical 'wording'. Output quallity is what really matters, and this one provided the best. I still can't believe the quality of the color copy function, as well as the photo features.

The only thing missing for making this my 'perfect' machine, is a digital answering phone system with caller ID :-). I strongly recommend this product. Every time I compare HP products with others, looking at cost, quality, functionality, and service, I end up with the same answer... Buy HP...

The HP PSC950 is a compelling printer that is selling out routinely. There are a few "first-looks" type articles on it, but no serious reviews yet, and no comparisons of its photo printing abilities. After trying out 4 HP PSC950's, I've got a pretty good idea of what I do like, don't like, and would eventually like on this lovely machine. Its Really Cool Feature is a one-stop fotomat-like print-from-card program that allows a user to print snapshot "orders" without the computer even being on. Its Really Big Drawback is a mini-banding problem that just won't quit, combined with a somewhat "grainy" image.

Size: Best I've seen in freeing up desk space. Great form factor with paper in & out at the front. The fact it replaces desk space of a printer, scanner, and copier/fax is killer! General printing: Really good. Runs text & graphics fast & quiet. Few delays. Paper handling is usually good, but not quite as good as I expect from HP.

XP compatibility: Great. Out of box it has a song & dance for most XP drivers, "wait six months," but to just plain print it just plain works. You plug it in and it goes. XP auto-detects it, auto-finds the driver, and auto-installs it. You don't even have to click a "next" box! It's even serialized: when I got an exchange unit, XP recognized the new one was different and auto-installed a different printer for it.<Snapshot printing: Great for contact sheets and snapshots. Ok for shoebox-style photo albums. An excellent match for your average HP camera, or a Sony camcorder's memory-stick stills.

Card-to-photo printing: works well. See Really Cool Feature below. Text-based menu works well but you need to print a contact sheet to know the card reader's shot numbering scheme.

Really Cool Feature: you can print contact sheets, and they come out like 2-shot "order sheets". You fill in the blanks for which shots you want, size,and single-prints or double-prints. Then you scan your order sheet, and it prints the order off the memory card! Cool! Photocopying: Pretty good, but with a banding problem that seems more accentuated than the print-from-card function.
Faxing: So it doesn't have a sheet feeder, big deal.

Consumables: $2-3 per page for ink, plus paper costs, per totally soaked 8x10 sheet. I figure maybe $1 per 4x6 snapshot. If snapshot printing is 1/4 what you buy the PSC950 for, that $100 worth of printer amortizes out pretty fast over all the snaps you will print. And you will print a lot of them. That's the real beauty to the PSC950 as a snapshot printer. This printer makes it easy enough that you really will keep printing snaps routinely.

Really Big Drawback: mini-banding that just won't go away. Out of the box, snaps show 1/2mm bands of color density (light/heavy) in lighter areas. These were hardly noticeable from 2 feet, clearly visible from 1 foot. I worked on the phone with HP, got some helpful advice at a newsgroup, tried from card, scanner, and several programs (XP, Camedia, ThumbsPlus, Photoshop 6). Tried 2 different sets of cartridge/heads. Cleaned contacts/heads. Tried other printers in stores. Exchanged printers at home. All the teaking and tuning resulted in several shots where the mini-banding was almost undetectable to the naked eye.

Really Big Drawback, part 2: grainy image. My best-worked shot (1MB JPG, into Photoshop 6 color-corrected & printed best resolution-matched 20MB PSD) pretty much took care of the banding after several printer tweaks. But the "near-perfect" image in terms of banding still looked grainy. Photo-RET III is still manipulating a 4-color, 5-picoliter, disposable-head system. No print ever looked as good as a good clean shot from the Epson 1200 upon close examination. Good luck in your own printer shopping, I hope this helps!

I brought this printer/scaner/fax machine when it first came out last year. There was no review back then but I brought it because I like the all in one feature. The scaner is very fast and easy to use. Much easier to use then Lexmark. The option of photo printing is many. The printer is very quiet and I was totally amazied by the no noise printing. You could hardly hear anything from the printer when it is printing.

However, I had trouble with setting it up when I first brought it. The user setup guide was big and clear, except it mis-printed the color of the tab for the 4x6 photo tray. I had to call the HP customer service to get help. The 4x6 photo tray is a great feature, but I can only put 1 4x6 photo paper in the tray at a time. If I put a stack of papers in the tray (like the manual says, 25 sheets capacity), it will feed 3-4 papers at a time when it print.

The scanning speed and quality is excellent. However, the printed photo color of the skin tone is very pale/light. After I scan a picture with people in it, I have to add lots of color to the image so that the face would look red on the computer screen. When it prints out on the photo paper, and skin tone would be just a bit lighter than the real skin color. If I don't add color to the image, the printed picture will have a very pale skin tone, nothing close to the true color.

Overall, the PSC 950 is a great product. The HP customer service was very helpful and promt. It's not a toll free call for the customer service, but the wait was less than a minute. Be very careful when buying the black replacement cartridge. It should be #15. It's very confusing if you look at the chart on the back of the cartridge pack. I brought the wrong one by using the chart. I called HP customer service and I was relieved that HP would send me the correct replacement free of charge. That's great customer service.

THIS HP FOUR IN ONE IS THE BEST PRODUCT I EVER USED.
PICTURES COME OUT VERY CLEAR. MY DAUGHTER WANTED 20 COPIES
OF SANTA FOR HER CLASS AT SCHOOL. THE LAST COPY
WAS JUST AS GOOD AS GOOD AS THE FIRST COPY. A FIRST FOR ME.
IT'S QUIET AND PRINTS FAST. IF YOUR LIKE ME AND PICKY ABOUT
THE CLEARITY OF YOUR PICTURES AND TIRED OF WASTING YOUR MONEY
TRUST ME THIS IS THE ONE YOU WANT.
THANKYOU.

I have Win ME so here's the scoop on it. I almost didn't buy this because of an earlier review! The install was very different. Read the enclosed start up sheet carefully!!! You have to load the software first before anything plugs in. This is because the multi-functionality...it's not JUST a printer. Be patient with the install it's a little slow and make sure it finishes. I didn't and I had problems. I had to uninstall/reinstall the software...NOTE when you uninstall the computer will look like it's installing...it's installing the uninstaller lol--different! Anyhow I got lost and called HP. Yes, it's not toll free BUT I got on with tech support within a minute instead of an hour wait. We had to download a patch. It seems that Win ME has a hibernation mode which causes problems with the 950 software. We did that and reloaded the software. (Note software loads better if you go into Msconfig and keep the start up programs from loading (anti-virus etc) and restart the computer.) IT WORKS GREAT! I haven't tried the fax yet but the copier and scanner and printer are terrific and it handles envelopes like a champ. But I did better with a stack on envelopes than the 1 feed situation! So upshot: read the directions carefully, be patient. If you have WIN me download the patch (see drivers on HP.com). After installing the software, install the patch. I really like this printer and it was worth the intall aggravation!

As I said above I own one of these printers & all the functions work with ease. The printing is fast and good, scan works great & copy is a pleasure. I don't use the fax option as I have a seperate fax machine. If you are looking for a very affordable above average multi function printer the HP 950 is a great choice.

At first I almost didn't buy this product after reading some of the reviews, but I'm glad I followed my instincts and bought this unit. I LOVE IT!!! I just got a new computer with Windows XP so I wasn't expecting much to work correctly until the new drivers are available in April, but as far as I can tell, everything works great. The only thing I haven't tried to do is to send a fax. I was able to send myself a fax from work to my home, and it worked perfectly. The printing from a camera card works great, and is one really unique feature to this model. It worked without a hitch and the photos printed up beautifully. I also love how compact this unit is. It sure does pack a big punch in a small space. I heartily recommend this product to anyone who is looking for good quality and performance.

I bought this printer a couple of weeks ago and it's fantastic. The photo printing capability is the best I've seen and text printing is identical to the laser printer I'm replacing this printer with.

Running Windows XP, this device is truly plug and play. Win XP has build in drivers, so once you plug in the USB cable, everything works fine. I haven't tried sending a fax yet, but printing, scanning, and copying all work just fine.